The following Q&A was completed as part of our conversational Commercial Real Estate FAQ Interview Series, we hope you find it helpful.
When negotiating with large investors, large firms, and working with big contracts, it’s important to know when it’s time to walk away from a deal. Feeling pressured or afraid to lose out on taking a deal can lead you to making deals you regret later on. Working with business-friendly investors and knowing just what you want out of the deal is key.
Richard: I’m just thinking like a lot of people don’t have the experience that you have negotiating with really large billion dollar plus investors or investment firms, and I’m guessing those contracts get very complex, so I’m wondering what you’ve learned over time about negotiating that might be helpful for others to hear who maybe haven’t played at your level yet, or are trying to grow to the level that you’re at but whatever type of real estate firm they are?
Chad: The quick answer is never be afraid to walk away from a deal. There are some very good construction attorneys out there that do work for some of the biggest and best developers, I’ve seen them literally kill deals, which is not where you want to be. You want to work with business-friendly people, not business prohibitive people. And seek great counsel, you know, if you feel like you’re not getting something from one source, definitely don’t be afraid to go and ask other sources.
Richard: Right, okay.